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IARTEM conference

Due to a personal commitment, I had to cancel my participation at the bi-annual conference, in Lisbon. No papers have been published as yet, but here is the link to the abstracts. Some topics sound really fascinating. As soon as the results are published, I will let you know. I think, for example, that some of you might be interested in this:

B8: Policies and textbook production

Has the use of classroom teaching and learning resources changed? An analysis of TIMSS Studies 2007-2015 data on the use of resources
Zuzana Sikorová, Iva Cervenkova, Marek Vaclavik, & Ivana Fialova
University of Ostrava
Country: Czech Republic
This paper reports on an analysis of the questionnaires data from TIMSS Studies in 2007, 2011 and 2015 regarding the use of classroom teaching and learning resources in mathematics and science lessons. Comparing data from the three studies the main question was formulated as follows: What changes can be tracked regarding the frequency and way of using the classroom resources? Is the change really happening? Can the transition to digital resources be tracked and confirmed based on the TIMSS data?
Three specific research questions included:
1) 'How often do the teachers ask students to read their textbooks or other resource materials in science lessons?'
2) 'How often do the students use a computer/tablet for schoolwork at school?' and
3) 'How often do the teachers have students use a computer for doing specific activities in science and maths lessons?'
First, the TIMSS data regarding classroom resources use were identified in International TIMSS Databases. The data were sourced from large-scale teachers' and students' surveys conducted by TIMSS. Next, the countries were selected that had participated in all three studies, to be able to compare the data. The sample thus included 26 countries for 4th-grade data analyses and 28 countries for 8th-grade data analyses. For statistical analyses of differences among the findings from the three years the non-parametric Mann-Whitney tests were applied. The results suggest a relatively high level of constancy in using the resources both among different countries and in international average outcomes. No significant differences have been proved regarding the frequency of reading textbooks in science lessons in the course of time. Although the students reported an increase in using computers at school, the data from teachers on specific student activities with computers did not back up the conclusion.

You could also look for these:
  • Teacher training in the use of textbooks
  • Teacher opinions about textbook quality and changes in the adoption process in Bulgaria
  • Changing teaching practices with digital media? The case of music education
  • Printed vs. electronic textbooks: the offer of multimedia in foreign language textbooks


One of the reasons I wanted to attend the conference was to look for a new jury member for BELMA. Fortunately, our board member Carmo Correia, who was at the conference, managed to make contact with Julieta Savova, who teaches at the University of Veliko Turnovo in Bulgaria. She is very suited from her background, speaks a number of languages and can, of course, read Cyrillic.